STAMFORD – Eleanor and Mort Lowenthal of Stamford received the 2011 Jewish Historical Society of Lower Fairfield County (JHS) Heritage Award at a reception on Sunday, June 12 at  Temple Beth El in Stamford.  The theme of the evening, “Humanity, Harmony, and Heritage,” will also highlight the organization’s revitalized mission of future community service, engagement and education for the betterment of the communities it serves. JHS maintains a Judaica lending library at the Stamford JCC and the only Jewish Archives in Lower Fairfield County.
Eleanor Lowenthal has been a volunteer tutor for more than 40 years, including work in the Stevens’ School Step Program and the “I Have a Dream” program; board membership on the Council of Churches and Synagogues; and membership on the Coalition for Mutual Respect. Her work with area youth includes three decades with the Stamford Young Artists Philharmonic, as vice president, subscription chairman and special advisor.  For the last 25 years, she has regularly cooked meals and brought lunches for Stamford’s Pacific House Shelter, New Covenant House, and many other programs helping people.
Mort Lowenthal, who made a career as an investment banker with Wertheim Schroder, is a founding member of the Stamford Partnership, first chairman of the Stamford Human Rights Commission, former chairman of the Stamford Police Commission, past chairman of the Yerwood Center, board member of St. Luke’s LifeWorks and board member of Liberation Programs. He has also served on the National Board of the American Jewish Committee, the Wilstein Institute for Jewish Policy Studies and is a past president of the Cornell University Alumni Association.  He is currently a Board member of the national Hillel orgnanization, Kulanu, the Jewish High School of Connecticut, Shalom TV and the UJF Bureau of Jewish Education.  Lowenthal drafted the desegregation plan for the Stamford public schools, which served as a model for integration in education in other communities throughout the country.